Albert g-



(No Model.) v

A.. G. WARREN.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 323,243. Patented July 28, 1885.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

View of the plug G.

tions for same between cars, which will enable the engineer to besignaled by the conductor NITED STATES ONEFOURTH TO ALFRED A.

STRAUSS, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,243, dated July 28,1885.

Application filed September 16, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALBERT G. WARREN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mayes ville, in the county of Sumter and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricSignals for Railway-Trains, of which the following is a description.

Figure 1 is a diagram view of a locomotivetender and one car. Fig. 2 isan enlarged plan view, partly in section, of the connection between thecars, and Fig. 3 is a side The object or my invention is to provide anelectric circuit on railway-trains with connecfrom any part of thetrain, and which also will automatically transmit a signal to theengineer in the event of any break in the train.

It consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of connectionsfor making a continuous circuit through the train, in combination withkeys, a battery, and bell, as will be hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, A represents one of the cars of a train. B is thetender, and O is the engine.

On each end of each car, and also on the tender, there are pairs ofspring-jaws, D D, which at their outer ends rest in contact with eachother, but may be separated by an insertible wedge or plug. The jaw D onone side of each pair is connected with a corresponding jaw on the sameside of the pair at the other end of the car by an insulated wire, a, orby a continuation of the spring, forming an electrical conductor. Jaws Dare also similarly connected. In one of these wires or conductors isinterposed a key, E, by which the circuit may be opened or closed atwill. One of said keys may be on every car, and suitably located foreasy access, and, if desired, connected with a cord that runs the fulllength of the car, so that the key may be operated by the conductor atany point in the car.

On the locomotive or tender is arranged a similar pair of spring-jaws, DD which are connected, the one, D", to a circuit-wire, D*, connectingwith a battery, D 011 the engine,

andthe other, D, with a circuit-wire, D, that connects through a bell,D, on the engine with the other pole of the battery.

For electrically connecting the tender with the next car and all theother cars to each other in a continuous circuit, I employ two wedge-shaped plugs, F and G, of which the front one, F, has notches b b oneach side, with inclined sides, which notches are faced with metalplates 3 c, and which plugs are made of dry wood or some othernon-conductor of electricity, which insulates the plates 0 o from eachother. The rear plug, G, is also made of a similar non-conductingmaterial, with notches b b, faced with metal plates 0 0*. These notchesare, however, of a different shape from those on the other plug, beinghookshaped or undercut, so as to catch and retain the rounded projectiond on the ends of the spring-jaws, and compel the cars, when theyseparate from a breakage in the train, to pull out the front plug fromthe spring-jaws, instead of the rear one, for the purpose hereinafterdescribed.

Between the plugs F and G there are two flexible insulatedconducting-wires or connections, e 6, one of which, 6, connects theplates 0 and 0* on one side of the two plugs, and the other of which, 6,connects the plates 0 c on the other side of the two plugs. Between theother cars of the train a similar set of plugs and connections isarranged.

The operation of the devices is as follows:

WVhen the cars are all coupled together, and the plugs F G inserted inthe spring-jaws, the rear car having no plug in the rear set of springjaws, these spring into contact and maintain a closed circuit from thebattery, and through the bell on the engine down the spring-jaws, wires,and plugs on one side, and up on the other side. To signal to theengineer, it is only necessary to open and close the circuit by one ofthe keys E, or by pulling the front plug out until its notch-platesleave the spring-j aws and the latter come together again. As thecircuit is thus opened and immediately closed the bell-magnet is firstdemagnetized, and the bell-ham mer drawn back by the spring, and isinstantly magnetized again, causing the hammer to strike the bell. Inthe same way,

if the train parts the front plug pulls out automatically, and as thespring-jaws pass off the plates of the plug to the non-conducting end ofthe wedge the circuit is broken and then closed again and the signalgiven. The object in compelling the connection to be broken bythe frontplug instead of the rear one is to allow the spring-jaws of the car nextin front of the break to close and maintain the circuit again for theportion of the train in front, still leaving this in operative conditionfor signaling; for if the rear plug should pull out the plates of therear plug would constitute the terminals of the circuit, which could notbe brought together to complete the circuit for the front portion of thetrain.

In order to disconnect the hooked notches of the rear plug from thespring-jaws, a sliding wedge shape cam, H, is arranged horizontally in aslot in the middle of the rear plug, and is made of hard rubber ornon-conducting material, so that it will not close connection betweenthe notch-plates of the plug. This cam is slotted and retained in placeby a bolt passing through its slot, and it serves, when forced againstthe spring-jaws, to expand the ends of the same and throw theprojections on the ends of the latter out of the notches, so that therear plug can be withdrawn when desired.

In applying my invention I may arrange it upon the inside ofpassenger-cars, 0n the'top of box-cars, and underneath fiat cars, or inany other desired or convenient relation.

Should foreign cars or cars not having this connection occur in thetrain, one or two in aplace, they may be bridged over by wires ofsuflicient length between two plugs. Some plugs may have bindingscrewsto connect any length of wire.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. Thecombination, with an electric circuit with key, a bell and batterymounted on the engine or tender, of spring-jaws at the ends of the carconnected with the electric circuit and arranged to spring together, andtwo tapering notched plugs or wedges having conducting-plates in thenotches and connecting circuit-wires from the plate of one plug to thecorresponding plate of the other plug, the front plug being arranged topull out and the rear one to remain seated, as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The non-conducting tapered rear plug,G, having hook-shaped notchesfaced with metal, and sliding cam H, in combination with the spring-jawshaving projections 01, the circuit wires, and the front plug havingbeveled notches faced with metal, as and for the pur pose described.

ALBERT G. WARREN.

Witnesses:

G. A. LEMMoR, L. STRAUSS.

